


A Gamorrean Sized Tapcafe Booth Built for Two

by tspofnutmeg



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Genre: Emotions, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post Mercy Kill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 07:20:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20792792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tspofnutmeg/pseuds/tspofnutmeg
Summary: Voort “Piggy” saBinring spotted her instantly even though the tapcafe was crowded and he didn’t exactly know who he was looking for. He should have figured the message had been from her - she was the only one of his old compatriots who hadn’t connected with him in some way over the years.Shalla Nelprin’s dark skin glowed in the dim light and her eyes sparkled when they flicked toward Voort. She looked as intimidating and lovely and deadly as she ever did.





	A Gamorrean Sized Tapcafe Booth Built for Two

**Author's Note:**

> For X-wings!

Voort “Piggy” saBinring spotted her instantly even though the tapcafe was crowded and he didn’t exactly know who he was looking for. He should have figured the message had been from her - she was the only one of his old compatriots who hadn’t connected with him in some way over the years.

Shalla Nelprin’s dark skin glowed in the dim light and her eyes sparkled when they flicked toward Voort. She looked as intimidating and lovely and deadly as she ever did. 

Knowing that any hesitation or posturing was useless, Voort headed straight for her table and sat across from her. She had picked a very wide booth so it was easy and surprisingly comfortable for him to sit - something many humans forget to think about when out with their larger non-human associates. The thoughtfulness made him even more on edge.

“Are you going by Piggy again,” Shalla asked, “Or do you prefer Voort?”

She must’ve heard about Vandor-3 and Kuratooine. Face probably told her himself; he always had to meddle if he saw the opportunity.

Voort waved his hand in forced nonchalance. “I have no qualms with either. 

A server droid scooted over to their table and dropped off two drinks and a plate of fried slug beetles. Shalla thanked it and tipped it a few credits before sending it off to its next destination. She pushed the glass containing a syrupy and foamy purple liquid toward Piggy. It was a rare spirit, tasting of sweet, earthy grains. It was his favorite, a treat he usually reserved for celebration.

He wasn’t sure anything that came up tonight would be so positive. He took the drink, but left it idling in his grip. 

“I haven’t forgiven you,” Shalla said. Even though she was even in tone, there was a force behind her words. 

Piggy felt like he shouldn’t ask what he needed to be forgiven for, but he wasn’t exactly sure what Shalla was talking about. He thought it was too arrogant to assume she meant whatever real or imagined budding romance that may have been between them. That was so, so long ago for a thing that never happened.

She, of course, knew he was confused. She told him, “I haven’t forgiven you for being a coward and leaving like you did. I understand not being able to be on the front lines forever, I moved onto a role that better suited my skills, but you ran away. We had to mourn Runt  _ and _ you, Piggy, even though you were still alive.”

When Piggy looked up from his drink, he saw that Shalla’s eyes didn’t look angry, they looked hurt… and a little angry.

Over the years, Piggy had been able to upgrade and fine tune his translator voice box. It was much less robotic sounding now, a hint of sincerity pulled from the particular way he made his squeals and grunts. “I was no longer fit to serve in any kind of fashion and it would have endangered missions and the lives of my squad members. It was the only-”

“Stop it,” Shalla commanded as she set her drink down on the table with a hard and loud thud. 

“Stop what?” Piggy asked, genuinely concerned.

“Stop talking like that,” Shalla scolded, “Stop trying to separate yourself from what you’re feeling, from what I’m feeling.”

Piggy was taken aback. He had never heard of someone being asked to be  _ more _ emotional. “The more you can be objective, the easier you can come to a productive solution.”

Shalla scoffed and leaned back in her seat, busying her fingers with the grooves on her glass. This was exactly what she expected from him, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t frustrated. 

“There isn’t a  _ solution _ to  _ feelings _ , Piggy. They’re not a problem to fix, and you can’t logic yourself into not feeling hurt or sad or happy. You have to face them and feel them and process them or they’ll weigh you down until you die a miserable death,” Shalla said before bringing the glass to her lips and draining the last of her drink.

“You never really seemed like a being who was this... serious about being in-tune with their emotions,” Piggy commented, choosing his words carefully.

She gave him an arrogant smirk. “Just because I’m selective with who I open myself up to, doesn’t mean I’m detached.”

Shalla continued, “As martial artists, we have to learn to listen to and control our entire selves, and that includes all of the things that goes on in our brains and our hearts. We also learn how to read it in other people. We have to be able to know when someone is nervous or pissed or willing to give up their lives. Not adding emotions into the equation could be a deadly mistake.”

Piggy studied her, reconciling the things she said with his own experience. After being turned into the hyper intelligent gamorrean he was, he had shunned being a creature controlled by emotions. The rest of his species only had their base feelings - hunger, fear, anger, lust. Everything a gamorrean did could be traced back to one of these.

But Voort saBinring wasn’t like them anymore. Now he had tools and intelligence allowing for more sophisticated communication, logic, and reasoning. Giving into his emotions felt like a slip back to what he used to be and - this was his darkest secret - it scared him.

So many hours had passed of Piggy thinking of what it would be like if he was never taken as prisoner or if the experiments had failed on him like they had on most of the others. There were some moments he yearned for the simplicity of not comprehending the horrors of the galaxy, of only having to be concerned with the family group he was responsible for.

Those thoughts always made him feel guilty.

What was done to him in that cursed facility was cruel and violent and selfish. But it was done, and Voort and was Voort - and Piggy - because of it. And Voort “Piggy” saBinring had saved lives and fought for peace and had beings who cared about him and he cared for.

It was true that Piggy liked teaching, and he had thought for many years that he'd end up in some academic setting when he finally turned in his Republic issued weapons. But Piggy hadn’t left the service of the Republic because he was losing his edge. He left because Runt’s death made him  _ feel  _ so deeply and he didn’t know what to do with it. He was sad and angry and confused and too embarrassed to tell anyone, so he left everyone who knew him and pushed those feelings away as far as he could.

His mission that brought him back to the Wraiths had made him start facing his ghosts, at least enough that he wasn’t shaming himself into hiding anymore. But that was only the start. Shalla pointed out he had a lot more work to do.

“I’m sorry, Shalla,” Piggy said, and he meant it. 

Shalla knew it, too, because she smiled at him - a sight Piggy didn’t realize he missed so much - and signaled their server to come over. “This round’s on you, and I’m getting a double.”

Piggy snorted a laugh and drank all of the purple spirit in one gulp. “I will as well.”


End file.
